U.S. Opens World Juniors with Four Medals

8/26/2013

Highlighted by gold medals and championship records from Ella Eastin (Irvine, Calif.) in the women’s 400m individual medley and the women’s 800m free relay team, the United States opened the 2013 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships with four podium finishes at the Hamdan Sports Complex.

Also medaling on the opening night of competition were Becca Mann (Homer Glen, Ill.), who claimed silver in the women’s 400m IM, and the men’s 400m free relay, which came from behind to take the silver.

In the women’s 400m IM, Eastin was in control from the start and touched in 4:40.02 to claim gold and the meet record. Mann, who placed eighth in the open water 5K and 10K at last month’s FINA World Championships, closed strong to earn silver in 4:40.26. Canada’s Emily Overholt won bronze in 4:42.03.

In the final event of the evening session, the U.S. women’s 800m free relay squad of Quinn Carrozza (Austin, Texas), Kathryn McLaughlin (Dana Point, Calif.), Katherine Drabot (Cedarburg, Wis.) and Cierra Runge (Cochranville, Pa.) led throughout the race to comfortably claim gold in 7:59.42, a meet record. Silver went to Australia in 8:03.07, while Russia earned bronze in 8:05.45.

The men’s 400m free relay came from behind on the anchor leg of Caeleb Dressel (Glen Cove Springs, Fla.) to claim silver in 3:19.21. Joining Dressel on the runner-up relay were Paul Powers (Clermont, Ga.), Brett Ringgold (Keller, Texas) and Kyle Gornay (Yucaipa, Calif.). Australia won gold in a championship-record 3:16.96, and bronze went to Russia in 3:19.57.

In addition to Monday’s finals, semifinal races were held in a number of events with the top eight qualifiers advancing to Tuesday’s finals. In the men’s 100m back, Connor Green (Milton, Mass.) qualified seventh for the final in 55.87, while Ryan Harty (Gardner, Mass.) finished 11th in 56.07. In the women’s 100m back, Kathleen Baker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Clara Smiddy (Miami, Fla.) qualified second and third with times of 1:01.28 and 1:01.35, respectively.

In the semis of the women’s 50m breast, Olivia Anderson (Edina, Minn.) was 10th in 31.99, and Maija Roses (Chapel Hill, N.C.) was 15th in 33.36. Gunnar Bentz (Atlanta, Ga.) finished ninth in the men’s 100m breast semis in 1:02.58, and Carsten Vissering (Bethesda, Md.) was 15th in 1:03.25.

Men’s competitors must be between the ages of 15-18 as of Dec. 31, 2013, while women’s swimmers must be between 14-17 years old as of Dec. 31, 2013. For complete information on the 2013 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, please visit fina.org.